Maternity undergarment



June 28, 1955 D. L. RosENBERG MATERNITY UNDERGARMENT Filed April 9, 1953 n n i l l l l l a lv United States Patent O MATERNITY UNDERGARMENT David L. Rosenberg, Newton, Mass., assignor to Boston Royal Petticoat C0., Boston, Mass., a firm Application April 9, 1953, Serial No. 347,655

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-224) This invention relates to undergarments for maternity wear and more particularly to underpants adapted to support attached garters.

The object of this invention is to provide a type of underpants which may be Worn throughout pregnancy, which adapts itself to changes in contour of the wearers body, which lits smoothly under clothing, and which eliminates binding at the waist while providing a lirm support for garters.

In the drawings illustrating the invention:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a pair of underpants constructed according to the invention,

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the underpants, and

Fig. 3 is a detail of the garter attachment shown in cross-section along line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

The garment is made up of a one-piece back panel 5 which extends around the sides and is joined to a fron panel 6 by seams 7 and 8. An elastic waist band 9 is attached around the top. A crotch piece 10 connects the front and back panels at the bottom, leaving leg openings surrounded by leg bands 11 and 12. The back panel is preferably made of a fairly firm knit material havir-t7 only slight elasticity in the horizontal direction, and is shirred on to the waist band. The entire front panel, also preferably of knit material, is shirred by means of elastic threads 13 running horizontally. The front panel, will stretch considerably in the horizontal direction t:

Vaccommodate the enlarged abdomen of a pregnant wearer, bnt will give only slightly in the up and down direction. The leg bands are also of fairly lirm material.

For attachment of garters, of the pinned or hook-on type, four elastic tabs 14, 15, 16, and 17, are provide:. These tabs are all constructed and attached as shown in Fig. 3. As there shown, tab 15 has a doubled back end 18 which is inserted back of the leg band 12, forming an open loop 19 through which a hook or pin may be inserted to attach a garter. The end 18 stops short of the ICC seam 21 which joins the leg band to the front panel (or back panel as the case may be). The upper end 20 of the tab extends above the leg band and is attached to the front panel 6. All edges of the tab above the loop 19 are firmly stitched to the undergarment.

The front tabs 14 and 15 are attached near the seams 7 and 8 connecting the front panel to the back panel, and receive support in the vertical direction along the line of the seams. The rear tabs 16 and 17 are attached to the back panel well toward the sides. The firm construction of the back panel makes the garment lit smoothly over the hips, and the strain of the rear garters is thus distributed over the hips instead of being carried by the waist band as in the case of a garter belt. This construction enables a wearer, who prefers to eliminate heavy corsets, to support stockings securely without local binding or strains which would cause discomfort.

What is claimed is:

A pair of underpants for maternity wear having a front and a back and comprising a back panel of relatively rm material forming the back and extending a short distance around the front on either side of the garment,

a centrally disposed front panel having a plurality of h 1 elastic threads horizontally disposed and forming shirrings throughout its etnire area the front panel being easily expandible in the horizontal direction, a crotch piece centrally connecting said front and back panels and forming leg openings, a pair of side seams joining said front and back panels together and running substantially vertically from the top of the panels to the respective leg openings at points spaced a substantial distance from said crotch piece, a pair of leg bands of relatively lirm material one attached to said panels around each of said leg openings,'and a pair of garter tabs, one attached to each of said bands immediately adjacent one of the seams, the tabs being spaced considerably further from said crotch piece than from the seams.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,391,641 OHern Dec. 25, 1945 2,462,195 Jacobson s Feb. 22, 1949 2,558,099 Palen June 26, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 30,209 Australia Nov. 17, 1931 of 1930 676,214 Great Britain July 23, 1952 966,917 France Oct.v 20, 1950 

